Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots a free throw in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden with Paul Pierce in the background
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots a free throw in the second half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at TD Garden with Paul Pierce in the background
Amid drastic offseason changes, NBA analyst and Hall of Fame forward Paul Pierce is hoping Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown isn't the next player on the move. After the Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis in a three-team swap, the president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, isn't done with his busy summer. This much we know. However, would Stevens consider moving Brown?
Pierce cautioned Stevens not to do so, considering that the Celtics had traded Jrue Holiday and Porzingis, splitting the All-NBA tandem while they were in their prime years and under contract, could be too much for the franchise to bear, per Podcast P with Paul George.
“You don't like it because you looked at a team when they won last year, you're like, man, this team could be a dynasty because they were all relatively young,” Pierce said. “They had already gone through their growing pains. You start to understand the business of it now. Because of this new ownership, I still think their window was open. I hope they don't trade JB, though. As long as you've got [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown, you can figure out the other pieces. They are in their prime.”
The Celtics still have plenty of time to retool the roster around Tatum and Brown.
“So, you can say for the next six years, let's see what's up with these two,” Pierce added. “When you look at OKC, and what they did, they got a for-sure MVP, and they got a bunch of good players. If you can surround that around JB and Tatum, you just have to re-figure it out now. I think this is the year, coming up, where you're like, alright, this is a transition year, let's evaluate everything.”
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Paul Pierce says new tax penalties prevent Celtics, NBA dynasties
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jaylen Brown (7) warm up before their game against the Phoenix Suns at TD Garden
Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
As Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum recovers from his ruptured Achilles injury, the front office will attempt to rebuild a championship roster tailored around Tatum and his All-Star teammate, Jaylen Brown. For Paul Pierce, it's challenging to have such a talented duo in a league built to destroy teams with dynastic potential.
“These owners are fans of the team, but they're businessmen,” Pierce added. “They're like, yeah, I want to win, but I don't want to get overtaxed. And that is going to change the way they build teams now. I don't know if you're going to see any more super teams.”
While the Celtics slip from championship contention in 2024-25, Pierce warns his former franchise of the consequences of splitting its elite tandem.